Canada Loads up on Medals in Casablanca
Montréal, January 25, 2026 – Canada’s judokas collected an impressive number of medals this weekend at the African Open in Casablanca, Morocco. In the senior, junior, and cadet events, the Canadians made a total of nineteen appearances on the podium.
Photo Judo Canada
Lowan Le Bris, Carla Van Zyl, Catherine Toshkov and Heidi Quach
Heidi Quach earned the country’s highest senior-level result, capturing silver in the under-48 kg competition on Sunday.
After receiving a first-round bye, the Québécoise ousted Sana Sabri of France in her opening bout. She then defeated Aziza Chakir of Morocco in the semi-finals to advance to the gold medal showdown, where Russia’s Kristina Dudina ultimately prevailed.
“Thanks to her hard work, [Heidi] secured two big wins early in the day. She threw both her opponents, and her ground game was excellent. That’s the kind of performance we can expect from her. We know she’s fully capable of having great days like today,” said Canadian coach Antoine Bouchard.
In the under-63 kg category, Catherine Toshkov and Carla Van Zyl nabbed bronze medals. Toshkov defeated Sara Golden of the USA in her final bout of the day, while Van Zyl bested Nadia Matchiko Guimendego of the Central African Republic in hers. Both matches went into overtime.
“In the two bronze medal finals, Catherine defeated the opponent Carla had lost to in the quarter-finals, and Carla defeated the opponent Catherine had lost to. Following her loss, Carla managed to remain very focused, even during the bronze medal match, where the referee awarded her points before subsequently withdrawing them again. She put in a great performance. The same goes for Catherine. Her quarter-final match was a heartbreaker, but she pulled herself together quickly. They should both be very proud.”
On the men’s side, Lowan Le Bris also captured a bronze medal by defeating Alexander Bernd Gabler of Germany in his last bout of the day in the senior under-73 kg division.
Sara Bourihane (-52 kg), Laurence Gagnon (-57 kg), Félix Mercier-Ross (-73 kg), and Olivier Gagnon (-81 kg) finished fifth in their respective weight categories on Sunday.
A double program for Van Zyl and Le Bris
Two days before capturing bronze in the senior events, Van Zyl and Le Bris both triumphed in the junior competitions, scooping up gold medals in their respective categories.
Van Zyl had an excellent day on Friday, defeating Anna Papasterigou of Greece, Ugne Skeryte of Lithuania, and Ching Man Mak of Hong Kong in back-to-back bouts.
“Her day was almost perfect. She only recently moved into the under-63 kg category, but she’s already doing very well. The transition seems to be going well for her,” said Bouchard.
Le Bris also defeated all his opponents on Friday, sealing the deal in his final match against Lithuania’s Natas Aleksejunas, where, after scoring a yuko, he held on to his lead until the clock ran out.
“Lowan was very good. His was probably the most impressive performance of the weekend. He’s our youngest junior athlete here, and yet he won the gold medal relatively easily, in addition to winning bronze at the senior level. He held his own and he made a lot of throws. It was nice to see,” concluded the coach.
Laurence Gagnon also captured a gold medal in the junior competitions, defeating Monika Gaigalaite of Lithuania in the under-57 kg big final.
Fellow juniors Éliandre Barriault-Tremblay (-66 kg), Charlie Thibault (-70 kg), and Olivia Wosniowski (+78 kg) won silver medals, while Vincent Roberge-Poitras (-66 kg), Tristan Bourque (-81 kg), Maria Magdaleina Delye (-48 kg), and Rima Bourihane (-52 kg) secured bronze.
On Saturday, the Canadian cadets captured five medals, led by Amir Temirbaev (-60 kg), Emma Tritton (-57 kg), and Olivia Wosniowski (+70 kg), who all won gold. Roman Semyrozun (-60 kg) and Dax Norman (-81 kg) finished with bronze.
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Written by Sportcom for Judo Canada
For more information:
Patrick Esparbès
Chief Operating Officer
Judo Canada
(514) 668-6279
p.esparbes@judocanada.org